– Former Formula 1 driver David Coulthard believes that the current generation of drivers has lost the raw “anger and hunger” that characterized the sport in more dangerous eras. In the podcast Up To Speed, he reflects on the contrasts between his own active time (1994 to 2008) and today’s modern era.
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“My generation raced in all weather conditions. You couldn’t see anything, but you kept going until you crashed somewhere. Today, the world has evolved so much that races don’t even start because it’s too wet,” he says.
The now 55-year-old made his Formula 1 debut in 1994 with Williams. He had worked as a test driver for the Grove-based team since 1993 and took over the cockpit after Ayrton Senna’s death at the 1994 San Marino Grand Prix.
“I lived through a very dangerous era,” he says. “I experienced a time when my chance came because the greatest driver of this generation was killed. So let’s say, I think we had a real sense of what it meant to firstly not crash and secondly to be lucky enough to be in a position to win.”
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“It all feels a bit like – and now I’m entering a certain territory… it feels a bit like everyone thinks their time [to win a world championship] will still come. There is no guarantee that your time will come.”
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While the Scot emphasizes that Formula 1 is still a dangerous and technology-driven sport today, “I think we have removed certain elements of anger, hunger, and fighting.”
“The drivers all seem to get along wonderfully, they all travel together and they all compare their cars: ‘Look at my Ferrari, look at my Lamborghini,'” says Coulthard.
“Part of it may well be that social media makes it impossible for them to celebrate their lives in public because there is always someone ready with a phone camera.”
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